Connecting Lighty

Updated 15 October 2026Lighty

Connecting Lighty is deliberately simple. All connections are labelled directly on the housing, and the diagram below shows everything at a glance. You push the cables into high-quality lever terminals from Phoenix: lever open, wire in, lever closed. This holds securely and can be undone at any time.

Wiring diagram Lighty with Lighty Extension: battery, LED strip, IN to IN, GND to GND, push buttons on 1 to 5 and ground

The three connections

  • Power supply: this is where Lighty connects to your leisure battery.
  • Light channels R, G, B, WW, CW: your up to five outputs for light. You will see exactly these names again later in the dashboard. So you always know which channel is which light.
  • Push button input (Switch): for your wall push button or for Lighty Extension.

Connecting the push button

The push button input is marked IN and GND. One cable from the push button goes to IN, the other to GND. A small plug with spring terminals is included for this: clamp the cables in at your leisure, then plug it in.

Without a SmartKnob, a single push button only switches channel 2, which is the G connection. For more push buttons, use Lighty Extension. More on this in "Lighty without a SmartKnob".

Cables for push buttons and Lighty Extension

The push button input and the connections for Lighty Extension use small push-in spring terminals from Phoenix Contact. They take thin signal cables, solid or flexible.

  • Cross-section: 0.25 to 0.5mm². We recommend 0.5mm². Thicker cables such as 0.75mm² do not fit.
  • Cable type: solid or flexible, for example FLRY-B. Both work.
  • Stripping length: 6mm.
  • Solid cable: push it in as far as it goes. It locks by itself.
  • Flexible cable: twist the strands lightly. Press the small release button next to the opening with a narrow screwdriver (2.5mm blade), push the wire in and let go.
  • Releasing: press the release button and pull the cable out. Never pull on the cable without pressing the button.
  • Bare wire, no ferrules, as with all spring terminals on Camper Jarvis.

These cables only carry a switching signal, no load current. That is why the size of the terminal decides the cross-section, not the load.

More wiring examples

Five white lights with five push buttons

Each light gets plus and its own channel. With Lighty Extension, each push button switches its own light.

Wiring diagram Lighty with Lighty Extension: five white lights on R, G, B, WW and CW, five push buttons on inputs 1 to 5

Two strips with warm and cool white (CCT)

A CCT strip uses two channels. Strip 1 connects to R and G, strip 2 to B and WW. Push button 1 goes to input 1, push button 2 to input 3. With a SmartKnob, warm and cool white become one light with adjustable colour temperature.

Wiring diagram Lighty with two CCT strips: strip 1 on R and G, strip 2 on B and WW, push buttons on input 1 and 3

24V strips on a 12V electrical system

Lighty passes the voltage it is supplied with directly on to the LED strips. So a 12V electrical system gives 12V at the strip. If you want to run 24V strips but have a 12V electrical system, fit a voltage converter from 12V to 24V before Lighty. Lighty then gets 24V and supplies your 24V strips properly.

Related questions

What can I control with Lighty?

Lighty controls all the lighting in your camper over 5 independent channels. Everything is possible, from a single white strip to full RGBWW lighting with colour plus warm and cool white. Or you connect up to five individual lights, such as kitchen, bathroom, bed left, bed right and outdoor light, each on its own. You set colour, colour temperature, brightness and entire light scenes just as you like.

Does Lighty work on 12V and 24V?

Yes, both without any changes. Lighty works in the range from 9 to 36V, so it is just as much at home in a 12V panel van as in a 24V motorhome.

Do I need a SmartKnob for Lighty to work?

Not necessarily. From firmware 0.4.7, a new Lighty responds to its push buttons straight away, without any setup. With Lighty Extension, each of the five push buttons switches its own channel. A short press switches, press and hold dims. With just one push button and no Lighty Extension, you switch channel 2. Even if your SmartKnob ever fails, your push buttons keep switching and dimming. The SmartKnob adds colours, white light (warm white and cool white as one light), scenes, the dashboard, automations, the wireless push buttons and the double tap for all lights.

How is Lighty connected, and what is in the box?

Connection is deliberately kept simple: power and light channels go into high-quality Phoenix lever terminals, almost tool-free, safe and reusable. You wire the push button to the supplied pluggable spring terminal connector and then simply plug it in. In the box you will find Lighty, four mounting screws and the pluggable spring terminal connector for the push button.

Which LED strips work with Lighty?

Lighty controls single-colour and multi-colour LED strips with shared colour channels, meaning normal single-colour strips as well as RGB, RGBW and RGBWW strips. Addressable pixel strips (such as WS2812), where every LED is controlled individually, are deliberately not supported. Lighty is not designed for them.

How many metres of LED strip can I connect?

What counts is not the length but the current: Lighty handles 20A in total. For example, a COB strip with 14W per metre draws about 1.2A per metre at 12V. Two strips of 3m each come to roughly 7A and fit easily. Several strips may also share one channel.

See all questions

Still have questions? We'll help you personally.

Get in touch